£91,000 phone bill calling chatlines

(30-06-2013 09:35 )mido Wrote:  in a court, if he wanted to avoid losing a home or possessions to pay for the debt, avoid additional interest and keep creditors off his back whilst waiting for his bankruptcy hearing this offer (regardless of how long it takes, its relative to his situation) would be seen as making an offer to pay the debt.

Ok, fair enough, you obviously know more about this than I do

I didn't realise a court would be too stupid to see that offer for what it was, rather than a genuine offer to pay the debt.

(30-06-2013 09:22 )marlowe Wrote:  

(29-06-2013 19:13 )D T Wrote:  How did this pleb afford the £700 bankruptcy cost? Even if they waived the court fee he would have still had to pay £525 to the official receiver.

Doesn't the fact that he managed to find £525 from somewhere make a mockery of his claim that he couldn't pay Vodafone anything more than £12 a year?

No, not really, I am pretty sure if most people were in this sort of situation, they could ask friends or family to club together over a few months to get a few hundred quid.
However I dont think any of us could ask friends or family to club together over a few months to raise £91k (or £145k including other debts we know of).
Vodafone are not going to accept a pro-rata split from £500 in full and final settlement (most companies I have worked for will aim for around 70% of debt value but be negotiable), so he has done the right thing using the money he can get to declare himself bankrupt

(30-06-2013 09:46 )The Silent Majority Wrote:  

(30-06-2013 09:35 )mido Wrote:  in a court, if he wanted to avoid losing a home or possessions to pay for the debt, avoid additional interest and keep creditors off his back whilst waiting for his bankruptcy hearing this offer (regardless of how long it takes, its relative to his situation) would be seen as making an offer to pay the debt.

Ok, fair enough, you obviously know more about this than I do

I didn't realise a court would be too stupid to see that offer for what it was, rather than a genuine offer to pay the debt.

yeah it sucks I agree but it is situation based. Its worth noting though that the creditor doesnt have to accept £1 a month and in order to accept it they will normally want a full income and expendature record - if the debtor is earning £1000 a month with no outgoings they would never accept this offer, yet if its JSA of around £50 with rent, gas, electric etc then they have no option
(worked debt recovery for a few years on and off, so have spoken to a few Kev's in my time....hated every minute of it! )

(30-06-2013 09:35 )mido Wrote:  You cant just walk into the courts on a monday and ask to be made bankrupt

Actually you can. I've just looked it up and most courts will do it immediately, without even needing an appointment to be made. In all the bigger courts there is no waiting list at all for bankruptcy. You just turn up and file all the papers and pay the fee. Then the hearing takes only a few minutes and it's job done.

perhaps my choice of words was slightly incorrect, (also my last flirt in the debt recovery industry was about 2008 so certain aspects may have changed during the economic crisis vs my fading memory )
I was implying that its not just something done on a whim, he will have had to spend a lot of time getting these fees and his case together and planning it rather than just turning up spur of the moment because he got a bill. Its the time between getting the debt and turning up at the bankruptcy court where Kev is open to creditor harassment that his minimum payments avoid.

(30-06-2013 06:24 )The Silent Majority Wrote:  You're actually taking that seriously with paragraphs like this?

Quote:Over the next few days I took various courses of action to purge my fixation, beginning with me dropping the external hard drive I had stored my Caty videos on out of a window. This failed to bring about its destruction, however, as it just bounced when it struck the ground and didn’t smash. I went outside with a hammer to complete the job and rid myself of this Pandora's Box, but as I pounded the hard drive into a terminal state I realised it would have been easier to just delete the videos. It was too late and the damage was now irreversible, so I thought about trying to use the power of my mind to go back in time to the moment just before I dropped the device. I then realised this was stupid and accepted the hard drive's demise

I would believe that the author may have used certain creative licence and cognitive examples to extend his point, (rather than simply write "I deleted the videos"), or he has mental health issues stemming from his addiction that comes across in his text.

Either way, I stand by my comment: "very insightful. I think a few people would say they have had very similar experiences."

I think theres enough evidence to show that watching babestation excessively can cause addictive and obsessive behavior, the top admin guys on this forum should perhaps have a section where people can discuss their behavior and be treated as an equal or dilute the banner ads with warnings or even links to self help pages.

Thurston was also right to drop his hard drive and then go at it with a hammer as if he just simply deleted the videos he would then be able to download something like "Piriform Recuva" which would allow him to get the pictures back as soon as he felt his demons reaching for him and cause him to spiral further.

(29-06-2013 19:21 )mido Wrote:  i would think its more likely a family member will lend him a few hundred for this cost vs £91k to clear his debt

(30-06-2013 09:47 )mido Wrote:  ...
However I dont think any of us could ask friends or family to club together over a few months to raise £91k (or £145k including other debts we know of).
...

Minor correction,his debt to Vodafone was not 91k, they reduced it to just under 30k, still a lot obviously

(30-06-2013 12:17 )mido Wrote:  I think theres enough evidence to show that watching babestation excessively can cause addictive and obsessive behavior
...

What evidence?
One idiot does not constitute evidence of a problem that requires the whole industry, or this forum to take action in my book.
In rare cases individuals exhibit addictive/obsessive behaviour towards unusual things, I recall someone who married a brick wall, people who are sexually attracted to cars, those obsessive hoarders who fill their homes with newspapers, or bottles of their own urine or whatever, even young kids become obsessed with the latest pop sensation, people obsessively watch soap operas or these reality shows. The problem generally lies with the individuals, you can't lay blame with the industry that produces the object/product these individuals become attached to or obsess over in every case.
When the problem becomes much more widespread, such as with drinking and gambling, it's fair to say that the industry has some responsibility for the problem and should contribute towards the solution in some way.

It would be wrong of me to use this as a name dropping opportunity but there are plenty of examples of obsessive behavior both on here or other social media

(30-06-2013 12:00 )MONEY BANG Wrote:  I would believe that the author may have used certain creative licence and cognitive examples to extend his point, (rather than simply write "I deleted the videos"), or he has mental health issues stemming from his addiction that comes across in his text.

I don't think I have any issues. I have been adhering to the correct dosages of my medication, and I haven't even sat on the shed roof for a few days. This is good, as it has been raining lately and nobody likes damp trousers.

(30-06-2013 12:17 )mido Wrote:  Thurston was also right to drop his hard drive and then go at it with a hammer as if he just simply deleted the videos he would then be able to download something like "Piriform Recuva" which would allow him to get the pictures back as soon as he felt his demons reaching for him and cause him to spiral further.

I worried I was going overboard - I even smashed the hardware without the use of goggles, but this has confirmed that I made the right choice after all.